“I think every team that’s played San Jose this year has realized one thing – the game’s 90-plus minutes,” he said this week. “They test your ability to concentrate for 90 minutes.”

The LA Galaxy failed to heed it.

For the 10th time this season, the never-say-die Earthquakes scored a goal in second-half stoppage time, and this one may cost LA a second straight MLS Cup title. San Jose defender Victor Bernárdez was the unlikely hero on Sunday night at The Home Depot Center, hitting a low, 94th-minute free-kick stunner that squirted through the Galaxy wall and past goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

The Earthquakes hardly deserved their 1-0 victory, but LA’s failure to finish its earlier chances and its lapse in focus at that critical moment now means it will have to win Wednesday’s decisive second leg in San Jose if it hopes to continue its championship defense.

The Earthquakes have lost only one MLS match at Buck Shaw Stadium this year.

Halfway through the five minutes of stoppage time that were tacked onto the scoreless 90, San Jose enjoyed one of its few forays into the LA half. Substitute midfielder Simon Dawkins drew the foul, a jersey tug from the Galaxy’s Marcelo Sarvas, and Bernárdez, the hulking central defender, lined up to take the kick some 30 yards out.

He hit it poorly. But for some reason, LA defender Omar Gonzalez jumped, providing enough space for the ball to slip through. And Saunders simply missed it, leaping to his left and getting his hand to it before it wormed its way underneath him. It was Bernárdez’s third goal of the season.

The Galaxy (17-13-6) and Supporters Shield-winning San Jose (20-6-9) were the two highest-scoring teams in MLS this season and their three previous meetings produced 16 goals combined.

But with the stakes raised Sunday, the defenses tightened up and the attackers fell silent.

Most pundits, and even the players, predicted a high-scoring series. With Chris Wondolowski (27 goals) leading an historically high-powered San Jose side that scored more often than any MLS team in 14 years and the Galaxy featuring the still-potent trio of Donovan, Robbie Keane and David Beckham, goals seemed inevitable.

Each side came close in the opening minutes. Wondolowski sneaked in behind LA defender Tommy Meyer in the second and poked a shot just wide of the left post. In the eighth, Keane flicked a menacing Beckham a free kick and barely missed.

But those close calls were a tease rather than a sign of things to come. Both clubs became bogged down in midfield while Wondolowski and Donovan had increasing difficulty finding the ball. The Galaxy’s offense wound up depending almost exclusively on Beckham finding space on the right wing and whipping in crosses, while San Jose – which hadn’t been shut out since early July – offered even less.

Despite playing in Thursday night’s preliminary-round game while the Earthquakes were idle, it was LA that had a greater spring in its step as the second half wore on.

Keane had an open look at goal in the 72nd after picking up the ball in midfield and benefitting from a nice decoy run by Donovan, but the Irishman pounded his shot straight at San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch. LA continued to pressure but San Jose didn’t break, and when Keane’s curling blast hit the crossbar in the 86th, it became clear that it wasn’t the Galaxy’s night.

At that point, a scoreless draw would have left the reigning champs ruing missed opportunities. But they should have known it could get worse. San Jose has demonstrated all season that it never stops playing, and on Sunday night it hammered that point home in the most dramatic manner possible.

“San Jose's scored a bunch of goals on us this year,” Donovan said before the game. “And the moments we haven't been sharp, they've been good, and they've got three or four guys who can absolutely punish you if you make mistakes. And they've done that against us this year.”

There’s no chance he was including Bernárdez on that list. When a central defender gets in on the act, the “team of destiny” talk gains a bit more traction.